Good afternoon
As you can see I am visiting these offices for the first time. Basically I have to understand what is going on. That is why I went to see how the refugees are dealt with, what happens there so I can understand the challenges they experience, what good practise there is, if any. I am visiting here for the first time to acquaint myself so that when we decide at head office to do things in a particular way, we understand the conditions on the ground because Home Affairs is about knowing what is happening on the ground, as much as it is about implementing policy and legislation. This is really why I am here. We saw it together so there is not much more to say.
Thank you
Questions and answers
Question: Minister, what was your impression from the time you stepped into the Home Affairs office?
Answer: Well, I thought it was a big problem because you have hundreds and hundreds of people who will probably have to stand in queues for the whole day. They have no place to sit, no shelter until they are actually inside the building because their turn has come. Until then there is no place for them to sit or be comfortable. Today is a nice day, but it could be raining, snowing or very cold on another day so for me it was quite an eye opener that the conditions are so difficult for people. It is difficult.
Question: Minister, so you have seen what we have all seen this morning where do you now start, how do you turn this around?
Answer: Maybe you can make some suggestions. We will sit with the management after this and discuss. It is difficult as you say but things cannot remain as they are. We have to find ways, even if they are incremental, but we have to improve the conditions as well as the systems, how are things done. I am glad that the Deputy Director-General who is in charge of immigration was with me. I am sure he is also thinking about this.
The first thing is see if there is any way of creating a slightly more humane conditions for the people while we are looking at ways in which systems can be streamlined. Obviously part of the challenge is, as I have been briefed, that this is the only refugee office in the entire western, northern and some parts of the Eastern Cape. You can then imagine that if you are serving people from such a vast area it is not an easy task.
It also then becomes increasingly inhumane because if people have travelled from far away, wait to be seen, have to find a place to sleep because you have not been seen and then have to remain another day and another. So clearly, that office is inadequate, even if you have the most competent staff. The infrastructure is inadequate for the volume of people that need to be serviced. I have in fact been advised that this has been a quiet day. I was told that Fridays are much busier than Wednesdays. I cannot imagine what Fridays must be like.
There are a number of areas that have to addressed infrastructure, obviously we depend on another department because we do not create infrastructure ourselves. We will then have to discuss with the Department of Public Works. I am not sure what they will say but clearly we do need additional offices. Perhaps we also need to decentralise because to have two to three provinces being serviced by one office is clearly a challenge for the people wanting to gain services.
To me, there are three areas:
* Whilst we are there, we have to see how we can create slightly better conditions than there presently are. This is in the short term
* We also need to decentralise and find other offices but as I say for this we depend on other departments
* Thirdly, we have to streamline our own processes so they can flow a bit better and people do not have to come as often to the main office. This is just the thoughts that I am having. But obviously we have to sit with the management, provincially and nationally to see what has to be done.
Question: Minister, when you were at Nyanga, you interacted with someone from Cameroon. When you asked him why he was in South Africa because there was no war in his country, he replied there were protests at the university. You replied that this would not warrant his seeking asylum. There is a perception that some people are seeking asylum in South Africa under false pretences. How do you plan to deal with this?
Answer: Well there are two types of people who seek assistance at the refugee centre. A small number of them are genuine refugees but the others are what we would refer to as economic migrants, people who have come to look for opportunities work, business. The challenge is that there is no law that separates the two. So, they all come through the refugee avenue even if they are not genuine refugees.
So, this is the challenge that needs to be looked at because, as you saw, it clogs the system. Perhaps approximately 90 percent of those people would not classify as refugees. But there is no other avenue for them to get documentation to be in the country other than going through this system. So, this is something we have to discuss with government and see what can be done because it will otherwise always be like this.
We will not be able to change the system if we do not separate the two, those coming to South Africa as genuine refugees and those looking for economic opportunities. I cannot say now though what the solution will be because it will not just be a decision by the Department of Home Affairs. It will have to be a discussion with government as a whole and this may even require legislation. This is the main problem everyone comes in through one avenue to get the appropriate documentation so they can remain in South Africa.
Question: Minister, when I interacted with these people, I gathered there was another challenge in addition to that of infrastructure. There is the challenge of human resources. The department is viewed as unfriendly. How will you attempt to address this?
Answer: This is a culture that we will have to change. We owe our existence and positions we hold to the public and the services they require us to render. This is something we must understand. Our reason for existing in our positions is because the public requires that service and therefore we must render that service efficiently, humanely in a manner that recognises that these are the people who pay our salaries, by rendering a service to them as they require, we have been given jobs and responsibilities.
Unless we internalise that we are not the bosses, we are here to serve the public. Until we internalise this, we will always receive comments like the one you refer to. This is something we have to work on, something we have to change. This has to change right from the top to down, from myself downwards we must all internalise we are here to serve the public and it is very embarrassing to hear what is being said. Attitudes take time to change but people must know there are consequences for behaving in unprofessional and inappropriate ways.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
10 June 2009
